1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a method of immunizing mammals by inoculation with antigenic substances. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved method of inoculating bovid animals in such a way as to achieve higher antibody titer and lymphokinen levels than can be achieved by conventional inoculation procedures.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Through recent studies, it has been found that the milk taken from a bovid animal such as a cow which has been treated with a spectrum of bacterial antigens is useful in alleviating or eliminating some pathogenic conditions when ingested by a host subject. By virtue of the high antibody titer or the lymphokinen levels of the milk, a subject who ingests the milk or product derived from the milk increases the antibody or lymphokinen count of his own system thereby being able to more effectively resist and defeat a given pathological condition(s) against which the given immune regulatory factors are effective.
For example, U.S. Pat. 4,284,623 discloses a method of treating inflammation in a host subject by way of the host subject, exhibiting an inflammatory condition, ingesting milk or a product derived therefrom which has been obtained from a bovid such as a cow which has been inoculated with a spectrum of antigens. The antigens can be any combination of bacterial, viral or cellular antigens with the only substantive restrictive factor being that the bovid being inoculated must be able to respond to the antigen challenge by exhibiting a state of immune sensitivity. This state of immune sensitivity is reflected by a high antiinflammatory factor or antibody factor in the milk obtained from the animal. The antiinflammatory factor or immune regulatory factor is a product of the sensitized lymphocyte, more generally referred to as a lymphokinen. The milk obtained in this fashion is capable of alleviating inflammation in a subject who ingests the milk or product derived from said milk.
U.S. Pat. 4,324,782 describe another example of the therapeutic effectiveness of an antibody containing bovid milk. Cows, immunized with one or more strains of Streptococcus mutans antigen, produce an antibody-containing milk, which, when ingested by a host subject, provides the host subject with antibodies effective against the growth of S. mutans bacteria in the oral cavity thereby aiding in the prevention of tooth decay.
Other prior art procedures are known for producing milk which have a variety of therapeutic effects. Heinbach, U.S. Pat. No. 3,128,230 has described milk containing globulins of .alpha., .beta., .gamma. components, by inoculating a cow with antigenic mixtures. Petersen (U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,198 and Canadian Pat. No. 587,849), Holm, U.S. patent application (published) Ser. No. 628,987, now abandoned and Tunnak et al, British Pat. No. 1,211,876 have also described antibody-containing milks.
All of the above known procedures for obtaining antibody-containing milk are disclosed as being obtained by standard immunization procedures well-known to skilled veterinarians. Usually, a bovid animal is immunized by an initial injection of antigen-containing fluid with the initial injection being followed at specific tim intervals by booster injections in order to raise the antibody titer of the bovid to an immune state. If, after a first series of booster injections, the animal is not in a sufficiently immune state, the animal must be inoculated with a second series of injections in order to reach the desired level of immunity.
In view of the problems associated with inoculating a subject bovid animal to obtain an antibody titer level in the animal which is sufficient for the purposes desired with respect to frequency of inoculation and the titer levels which can be achieved, a need continues to exist for a method by which high antibody and/or lymphokinen levels in a bovid animal can be achieved with minimal injections of antigenic material to reach the desired titer levels.